The X Factor UK (Series 14)
Series 14 of The X Factor premiered on September 2, 2017 and concluded on December 3, 2017 on ITV. This is the first series to be sponsored by Just Eat after being sponsored by TalkTalk for nearly eight years. It was won by RnB/Hip hop boy band Rak-Su, who became the second group after 2011 champions Little Mix and the first boy band to win the original series. Grace Davies finished as runner-up. Production Prior to the Series 13 final, Louis Walsh revealed that he had signed on to be a judge for a further two years. It has also been reported that Sharon Osbourne will be returning. Nicole Scherzinger also hinted on her Instagram page that she may return to the judging panel although in March 2017 it was reported that she may not be returning in order to focus on her music career. However, a month later it was reported that both she and Sharon Osbourne would be returning along with Simon Cowell meaning that the panel would be the same from the previous year for the third time, the first in 2004-06, and the second in 2008-10. On January 19, 2017, it was announced that ITV had decided to scrap aftershow The Xtra Factor. Rylan Clark-Neal announced on Twitter that he would not be returning to do it for a second year, seemingly confirming that it had indeed been cancelled. A week later, it was confirmed that Dermot O'Leary would be returning to host the show for its 14th year, marking his tenth year as a presenter. In June 2017, it was revealed that the judging panel will remain the same as Series 13. On June 23, 2017 it was revealed that Nicole Scherzinger wouldn't be able to make the first day of Manchester auditions due to prior commitments and as such was replaced with Britain's Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon for the first day of the auditions, with Scherzinger returning for the rest of the auditions. Dixon also stood in for Osbourne at the Edinburgh auditions five days later due to the latter having a long-standing back injury. The day before the first live show, it was reported that Simon Cowell had been taken to hospital after falling down the stairs at his home. Due to this, he was absent from the first live show with the remaining judges going ahead as normal. Guest judge Alesha Dixon, who had filled in for both Scherzinger an Osbourne during the auditions, joined the panel for the second live show in place of Simon, who once again wasn't able to be in attendance. Judges Twists/Changes Age limit: The minimum age limit was reduced to 14 years old. This previously happened in 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2014. Auditions: '''Simon confirmed during the filming of bootcamp that the auditionees would be allowed to perform original songs. This previously happened during Series 9 and there were more audition episodes than previous series. '''Six Chair Challenge: In a change to previous years where each judge critiqued each other's category together, the judges faced their category alone on the sidelines while the other judges sat at the judges' table offering their critique. Live Shows: '''Acts were sent home on both Saturday and Sunday, as "tedious" Saturday nights received lower viewing figures than Sunday. Simon officially confirmed the reduction in live shows in late August 2017. The group performance was also abolished. '''Theme Weeks: '''In August 2017, it was reported that the theme jukebox twist that was introduced in Series 13 had been scrapped. The live shows saw the return of the theme weeks of previous years with updated song choices. In a series first, many of the finalists were permitted to perform their own songs. '''Wildcards: On October 18, the ITV Press Center confirmed that following this segment the public would get to vote for a wildcard for each category from the remaining contestants who did not make it to the live shows. This gave a total of 16 acts for the live shows. Sing-Off: In a change to previous years, for the first four weeks there was no sing-off between the two acts who polled the lowest public votes. Instead, the acts that polled the lowest amount of public votes were automatically eliminated and those who topped the public vote on both nights went head-to-head in a sing-off with the victor winning a prize. Winner's Single: During the final, it was announced that this year's winner's single would be the celebrity duet between the finalist and whoever they duetted with. Finalists Selection process Auditions See: List of The X Factor UK auditionees (series 14) Although initially reported that returnees would be banned, Anthony Russell, who previously auditioned in 2007, returned to audition; he later withdrew from competing. Other returnees included Aidan Martin who first auditioned in 2007 and made it to Bootcamp, Tracy Leanne Jefford who first auditioned in 2006, making it to Bootcamp, and Nicole Simpson who reached bootcamp in 2011; she withdrew before the Six Chair Challenge took place. Leon Mallett, who auditioned as part of a duo with his brother Alex, previously auditioned for the show during in 2014 as part of the boyband Fifth Street, who were eliminated at Bootcamp. Bootcamp See: Bootcamp (UK series 14) This took place from July 21 to 23 at the SSE Arena, Wembley in front of a live audience. After everyone had performed it was also revealed that Simon Cowell would be mentoring the Groups, Nicole Scherzinger would be mentoring the Overs and Louis Walsh would be mentoring the Boys. Six Chair Challenge See: Six Chair Challenge (UK series 14) This took place from July 26 to 28 at the SSE Arena, Wembley. *Although put through to Judges' Houses, it was confirmed that Anthony Russell had withdrawn due to "personal reasons". His replacement was announced as Sam Black, who was originally eliminated during Bootcamp Judges' Houses See: Judges' Houses (UK series 14) Filming for judges' houses took place in late August and early/mid September. On October 18, the ITV Press Center confirmed that there would be a choice of four wildcards, selected from the three finalists from each category who did not originally make it to the live shows. It was also announced that the public would get to vote for each wildcard and that their first performance would be in the second week of the live shows. Anthony Russell was originally selected for Judges' Houses as part of the Boys category mentored by Louis Walsh, but dropped out due to "personal reasons". Soon after, his replacement was announced as Sam Black, who had originally been eliminated at Bootcamp. Live Shows Results Summary Ratings Trivia * This is the second time in its run that the show has premiered in September rather than August as its first series premiered in September 2004. * This is the first series since Series 1 that has not featured a contestant from the Boys category in the final. * This is the third series to feature an original song as the winner's single, following Series 2 and Series 13. * The finale was watched by just over 5.2 million viewers, making it the least-watched finale in the original series' history. Category:The X Factor UK (Series 14) Category:The X Factor UK Category:Series